The cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries are constantly searching for new and useful compositions for treating ubiquitous problems such as baldness, dry skin, dandruff, sunburn and the like. Remedies for these conditions have been somewhat successful at best. There is a definite need for more advanced treatments, especially in the area of male pattern baldness.
Man has a stock of about 90,000 to 140,000 hairs on his scalp. It is normal for him to lose about 50 to about 80 hairs per day. Hair depends on the papilla for it's growth. As long as the papilla is not destroyed, the hair will normally grow back. In humans, new hair replaces old hair in the following manner: the bulb loosens and separate from the papilla; the bulb then moves slowly to the surface, as hair grow by cell division which takes place at the root of the hair around the papilla.
Hair growth is influenced by season of the year, nutrition, hormones and the like. Cold air will cause the hair to contract. Heat will cause the hair to expand and more readily absorb moisture. The natural shedding of hair occurs more rapidly in the spring and fall.
The condition known as alopecia refers to hair loss which does not return. Alopecia senilis is the form of baldness occurring in old age. Alopecia prematura is the form of baldness occurring in early to middle age. Both conditions begin with a slow thinning process which is caused by strong hairs falling out and being replaced by weaker ones.
U.S. Patent No. 4,933,177 to Grollier et al. discloses a cosmetic composition for treating the hair and skin comprising powders of pulverized plant substances. Roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds can be employed. Many varieties of plants are disclosed such as acacia, witch hazel, tormentil, dog rose and rhatany.
U.S. Pat. No. Re 33,993 to Grollier et al. relates to a cosmetic composition for treatment of the hair and skin comprising, in an aqueous medium, particles of pulverized flowers or flower tops. Many varieties of plants, shrubs and trees are disclosed as possible sources for flowers or flower tops. Some of these are: wormwood, acacia, yarrow, columbine, mugwort, honeysuckle, crocus, oleander, apple tree, sage and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,485 to Kukuta et al. discloses a hair growth promoting agent comprising an extract of the plant hypericum erectum thumb, a Chinese medicinal herb. Extraction is performed with an organic solvent. Leaf, stem, root, fruit, seed or flower can be utilized.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,949 to Bias teaches the use of a hair growth composition comprising petroleum jelly, an oil extract of cactus, glycerin and oil of clover. In the preparation, cactus leaves and other solids are removed as by filtration and straining.
The present invention relates to a method for preparing an aqueous composition which enables the effects of alopecia to be eliminated or reduced, and in particular enable hair growth to be induced or stimulated or its loss decreased. The composition also exhibits benefits advantageous to the human skin such as relief from dryness and the like.